VOA慢速英语:Study of Paralyzed Man May Offer Hope for New Treatment

Rob Summers of Portland, Oregon, is twenty-five years old and a former college athlete. In July of two thousand six he was hit by a car. Doctors told him he would never walk again.
俄勒冈州波特兰的Rob Summers今年25岁，前大学运动员。在2006年7月，他被汽车撞到。医生告诉他，他再也无法走路了。

ROB SUMMERS: "I turned to the doctor and said 'Obviously, you don't know me very well. I am going to walk again.'"
Rob Summers：“我告诉医生说，很明显，你并不了解我。我一定能够重新用双腿行走。”

Mr. Summers learned about experimental research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Doctors placed small electrodes in his lower back. These send electrical signals to his damaged spinal cord to move his hips, legs and feet. The signals act like the signals that the brain normally sends to produce movement.
Summers在肯塔基州路易斯维尔大学进行试验研究。医生们在他背后的下部放置了一个很小的电极。这些电极向他损坏的脊髓发送信号，让他移动臀部，双腿和双脚。这些信号就像大脑正常情况下下达的运动指令一样。

ROB SUMMERS: "I was unable to move a toe or anything for four years, and on the third day of turning the simulator on, I was able to stand independently."
Rob Summers：“四年的时间里，我脚趾头都动不了，什么都不能动。而安装了模拟器的第三天，我就能够自己站起来了。”

Video from the university shows him even taking steps on a treadmill while supported by a harness. The work is described in a study in the Lancet medical journal. The lead author, Susan Harkema, is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the university.
来自这所大学的视频显示，他甚至可以在带子的帮助下在跑步机上行走。柳叶刀期刊上一篇文章详细描述了这项工作。首席作者Susan Harkema是这所大学神经外科学院的教授。

SUSAN HARKEMA: "Within that week with support, of the body weight support, we were able to get him to stand without any help at the legs so he was generating enough force to bear his body weight."
Susan Harkema：“经过一周的身体重量支持之后，我们能够让他在腿部没有任何支撑的情况下自己站起来，能够支撑自己身体的重量。”

Mr. Summers can stand for up to four minutes at a time, or up to an hour with assistance. He received extensive physical training. His spinal cord had to be retrained to produce the muscle movements needed to stand and take assisted steps on the treadmill.
Summers每次能够站立持续四分钟的时间，在有支撑的情况下甚至可以站立一个小时。他接受了广泛的物理训练。他的脊髓必须重新接受训练，才能产生站立和行走所需的肌肉活动。

The treatment has also helped him regain some control over his bladder.
这次手术也帮助他重新控制了自己的膀胱。

Researchers are calling his progress a medical breakthrough. Professor Harkema says there could be a day when Rob Summers and other paraplegics like him will be able to walk again.
研究人员称他取得的进步是医学上的重大突破。Harkema教授说，总有一天，Rob Summers和像他一样的下身瘫痪者能够重新行走。

But there is still a lot more work to do to reach that day.
但是要到达那一天,仍有许多工作要做。

Mr. Summers was completely paralyzed below the chest, but he did still have some feeling. The scientists say they do not know how the treatment would work with patients who have no sensation at all below the injury.
Summers胸部以下全部瘫痪，但是他仍然有一些感觉。科学家称，他们不知道，如果病人伤口以下完全没有感觉，这项手术是否有效。

Also, the researchers point out that they have studied only one person so far. And Mr. Summers was in extraordinary physical condition before his injury.
同时，研究人员指出，他们目前为止只对一个人进行了研究。而且Summers受伤之前身体状况非常好。

Money for the research came from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Professor Harkema is director of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network.
这项研究的资金来自克里斯托弗．里夫瘫痪基金会和国立卫生院。Harkema教授是里夫瘫痪基金会神经恢复网络的主任。

The eleven-member team also included scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology.
这个由11位成员组成的队伍还包括来自洛杉矶加州大学和加州理工学院的科学家。